Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has raised concerns regarding an increase in International Protection applicants in tents in Dublin City Centre in recent days.
Speaking today Teachta Ó Laoghaire said:
“People in tents on the streets of our capital city is no good for anyone. It is certainly no good for International Protection applicants, and their dignity and welfare, nor is it good for communities in our cities.
“People are rightly outraged and upset to see people living in conditions like this.
“According to the Irish Refugee Council, some of these people had been accommodated indoors in City West in recent days and have since been told to go to the streets.
“It is the 5th of December. We are in the depths of winter. We are going to be facing in to nights of desperate cold, and heavy rain. No one should be forced to face the elements relying on tents, pitched on the streets. The Minister for Children – and he is still the Minister – needs to get a grip of this situation. And that applies across the board, the Minister for Housing must do all within his power that people who are homeless are given shelter in these winter months.
“While we understand that in a last ditch scenario, tents on state sites with access to water and toilets are better than no shelter. But it should be just that, a last ditch scenario, and the objective should be to move people to indoor settings at the earliest possible state. And we definitely do not want to see ad hoc gatherings of tents in our cities streets.
“The Government needs to radically transform our policies in this area of International Protection, to deliver a system that makes decisions fast, that brings an end to the chaos the Government’s policies have created, that ensures resources are preserved for those most in need, and that ensures the dignity and welfare of those seeking international protection as well as showing respect for communities. We can and must do better than this.”
